Daddy’s Valentine

Growing up, Valentine’s was a special day for me. For as far back as I can remember, my father would include me and my younger sister as his Valentines. It became a tradition for him to purchase a miniature version of the box of chocolate he purchased for our Mom.

Life winks cartoon strip - Daddy’s Valentine

The Valentine Days he had to work were filled with anticipation of his arrival home. The closer it was to the time he normally arrived home, the closer we stayed to our Mom. We wanted the whole experience of him handing each of us our boxes.

Now our mom may not have been as excited about the chocolates, because she didn’t like chocolate much. She had a few in the box that she did like. The ones that were chocolate covered pecans and caramel. In fact that was one of her favorites. This made it even better for me and my sister, because guess who got to eat the rest of the chocolates that she wasn’t fond of?

Don’t think my mom was cheated, because we later discovered he had other gifts in the bag for her. We were so distracted by the chocolate that we didn’t even look in the bag to see if anything else was in it. We were simply happy to have our Dad love us enough to include us as his Valentine’s along with our mom.

He has been gone for decades now, but the memory of what he done for us on Valentine’s Day still bring up good emotions. It impacted my sister so much that she took up the charge after he passed. She would buy my Mom her favorite Turtle candies and me a small box of chocolates. When my son came along she included buying him a small box as well, keeping Dad’s tradition alive.

I know there are some who think Valentine’s is a commercial holiday or a reminder of their singleness, but it doesn’t have to be. Whether it’s Galentine’s or Valentine’s Day, you can choose how to make it special and memorable. If not for you then for the ones in your life that are loved by you.

Happy Valentine’s Day, make it a great one.

Jenetta